Percy stuffed his clothes into a duffel bag grouchily, still more than a little agitated at Annabeth for smacking him. He hadn't done anything wrong! All he wanted was a nice, quiet, relaxing summer where monsters weren't trying to eat him, and he could just focus on enjoying life. Now, he was already being shoved off onto another quest, presumably to clean up yet another one of the Olympian's messes.
"We know where it is, and it's a straight shot from here to Chicago. We've dealt with Mother Earth, I'm sure we can handle a little drive. Right?" He reasoned with himself as he packed. Plenty of ambrose and nectar? Check. His sword-pen Riptide? Check. Clothes… and some blue cookies his mother had packed him. He turned to leave, and was greeted by Annabeth and Rachel, both of which also had bags packed up.
"You guys ready to head out?" Percy asked. They both nodded, and together went to Meet with Chiron. When he saw them approaching, a saddened look appeared on his face. He had really hoped that Percy would finally get to have at least one semi-normal summer. At the same time, Chiron knew that a son of Poseidon, with the power Percy possessed, would be the Olympian's champion for years to come.
"Are you ready to go then?" Chiron asked. Percy shouldered his bag with a little more anger than usual, his face betraying his inner thoughts and feelings.
"I'm just ready to get this over with and get back to our normal summer vacation." Percy replied, but the tone in his voice spoke more volumes than his words ever could. They would all be shocked if retrieving the Light were the end of the journey, but that still didn't stop Percy from holding out hope that perhaps it would.
"I pray that you do, Percy. And again, I would like to extend my apologies; if I had a choice in the matter, I would send someone else." Chiron admitted, Percy smiling at the old centaur.
"Not your fault, Chiron. And I'm sure the gods have a good reason to send me." Percy tried to stay optimistic.
"Please, let me walk you to the van." Chiron offered. As they walked to Half-Blood Hill, you could feel the air was siphoned clean of the happiness that had once been in abundance. Campers were casting tiny, sideways glances at the three as they trekked towards the hill. Percy knew those looks all too well; fear. You could almost sense it in every camper that walked by, in every whisper that left their lips. They were afraid that another war was just around the corner, and if they were honest, so did Percy and Annabeth. Argus was already pulled up to the hill in a black SUV, ready to drive them to wherever their journey took them. They turned to Chiron again, who himself seemed a bit on edge. He tried desperately to hide it, smiling at the group as they loaded their things into the car.
"Be safe, young heroes. Remember to always stay on guard; you never know what evils could lurk just around the corner." He commented. He trot closer the the SUV, placing a hand on Percy's arm, which hung out the window.
"Please come back safely." Chiron asked, Percy forcing another smile and nodding.
"We will. Don't worry, we'll have the light and be back in no time." Percy reassured him. Chiron took a step back, waving at them as Argus pulled away. For quite some time they drove in silence, only Annabeth's typing on her laptop and Percy's nervous tapping breaking the silence. Finally, Rachel spoke up.
"So, it's a good 12 hours from here to Chicago, So should we divide it into 2 days, or just ride out the whole thing?" Annabeth looked over to Percy, to ask him, sighing Percy Jackson could fall asleep in a time like this. She looked back at Rachel, the disdain clearly evident in her expression.
"I think we'll just ride it out." Annabeth responded, then went back to work, typing with a furious rage. She pulled the stylus off of the side of her laptop, beginning to sketch something onto the screen. More silence rang, Rachel looking out the window for some time before looking back at Annabeth.
"Whacha working on?" Rachel asked, Annabeth smiling and looking up.
"I'm actually working on an assignment for my architecture class; I have to design building that maximizes office efficiency." She explained, turning her screen and revealing her design. It was the start of an elegant two story building, Annabeth having just begun sectioning it off into rooms.
"Wow, it's amazing. You are really talented, Annabeth!" Rachel exclaimed, Annabeth shrugging and turning her screen back to her.
"I promised Percy I wouldn't work on it until after summer was over… the assignment hasn't even been given yet," She chuckled, sketching once again as she spoke.
"Then again, we also promised no quests or monsters or deadly peril," Annabeth gestured around, as if to say 'but here we are'.
"What about you, Rachel; you working on anything big?" Annabeth asked, Rachel smiling.
"Well, I just got accepted into the California Institute of the Arts, so that's one thing." She admitted, Annabeth looking impressed.
"Wow, nice! That's one of the best art schools in the country, isn't it?" She asked, Rachel nodding.
"Yep, I start in August. Other than that, this quest is the biggest thing to happen to me." She admitted.
"Trust me, normal is bliss. Everyone thinks being chosen to go on quest after quest must be exciting; it's not. I'd take normal over almost eaten any day." Annabeth informed. Rachel looked out the window once again, watching as the world passed by. Out of nowhere, the amulet she was given glowed a bright, neon purple. Rachel hesitantly reached out and touched to gemstone, the same blank feeling taking her over once more.
"11268 Pilot Avenue, Marion, Indiana" she spoke, Annabeth looking up curiously.
"What did you- Oh." Annabeth ended when she saw the amulet in Rachel's hand.
"Indiana? It was just in Illinois, like, 5 minutes ago!" she exasperated. Both girls glared at the sleeping form of the quest-curser Percy Jackson.
"Well, assuming that it doesn't randomly move again, we just cut our drive time in half. Still, how did it move so quickly?" Rachel commented to herself.
"What do you think it looks like? Will we even know what to look for?"
she asked. Annabeth paused, her stylus hovering over her screen for a moment as she thought
"In my experience, with things like these, when you see it, you'll know." She answered, going back to her work. Rachel looked down the now inactive amulet in her fingers, twirling it slowly. She carefully examined ancient artifact. The actual amulet was about the size of her palm, made of a worn brass material, ancient character long forgotten scrawled into it. The middle was hollow, harboring a glowing purple gemstone no bigger than a nickel. If you looked at it the right way, it almost looked like an eye, staring deep into her very soul. As she twirled the relic around, she felt her finger get caught on the back, turning it around. There was a tiny flap on the back, almost completely invisible to the naked eye. She slid her fingernail underneath the tiny flap, pulling up. A light sound hissed as it opened, revealing the contents inside. The gemstone wasn't a gemstone at all, but a plain titanium ring encrusted with 4 very bright amethysts on the knuckle. By then Annabeth was watching, curiosity in both of their eyes as she carefully lifted the ring out to examine it. Rachel felt the inside of the brass, the golden chain falling out into her palm. The necklace had a dime sized piece of what appeared to be a ruby attached to the end, glinting in the sunlight. Both girls were left speechless at the spectacle. Rachel carefully put the ring on, squeezing her eyes shut as she did. When she felt nothing out of the ordinary, she slowly opened her eyes, panic taking over.
"Did….Did I ruin it?!" Rachel cried, Annabeth obviously forming some kind of theory.
"I don't think so. Where is the light now?"
"Same address in Indiana, why?" Rachel gasped "Whoa! I knew that! How did I know that?"
"I think the ring is the true source of power, Rachel. The necklace was just a facade." Annabeth reassured. Rachel looked at the ring on her finger, then at the necklace in her hand.
'Wow. Demigod stuff is complicated!' she thought to herself as they informed Argus of their slight change in destination. Rachel could feel her heart racing and her adrenaline pumping from the awesome experience. Now, she couldn't wait to see the Light.